I'll Be Coming Back for This
by RedKaddict
Summary: My take on a sequel to XMen. Plotted before I saw X2. Rogue and Logan have both lost something, but they find comfort in each other as they continue on without the one thing that made them unique. ON HIATUS, most likely a permanent one. Sorry, guys.
1. Stray Dogs

Title: I'll Be Coming Back for This  
By: RedKaddict  
Genre: Drama/Romance  
Summary: Takes place two years after the first movie. Rogue somehow misplaces Logan's dogtag. Scott and the others try to comfort her.  
Disclaimer: I do not ownX-Men or any of the characters. They belong toother people. I'm just borrowing them for a short while so we can all have a little fun.

A/N: I have not yet seen X2, let alone X-Men 3, so if this is inconsistent with the other movies, that would be why. There is more to this story, but I will not post it until I get at least 8 reviews requesting that I do so.

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**Chapter 1: Stray Dogs**

Clenching her fist around the precious scrap of metal that she'd held so tightly to for the past two years, Rogue took once more to her incessant pacing. First she paced the Rec room. When glances of annoyance were thrown her way, she paced the halls. After nearly being run over there, she decided the halls were too crowded and took to her room. There she paced the small area without interruption.

It had been her semi-regular routine for those two long years. Every once in a while, a queer feeling would flutter up from her stomach into her chest. Anxiety and anticipation would grip her heart and she would pace to and fro to keep herself calm, checking windows often and listening carefully for the sound of a motor. Hours would turn to days, days into weeks, and the feeling would eventually disappear for a while. Things would more or less go back to normal before the whole cycle would start again.

Until now. The fluttery feeling had returned yesterday, making her restless once more. But this time it was worse. It fluttered up past her chest and settled in her head, flying about and whispering strangely in her mind. It made her even more restless than ever. It felt like something - or someone - was moving around inside her, and she didn't like it one bit.

At last, after everyone else had gone to bed, she grew weary of the constant movement and went to bed. But the next morning, after a fitful night of tossing and turning, she was up early, intent on continuing her vigil. Only something was different. Something was wrong.

The dogtag was missing.

Her treasured possession, the one thing that had comforted her in her loneliness, had vanished in the night. In a frenzied panic, she looked high and low, turning her room inside out in her search. The closet and bureau were emptied, the sheets torn off the bed, the nightstand cleared off, the laundry basket turned upside down, all in an attempt to find the missing keepsake. She wished, briefly, that Logan's powers had not worn off, otherwise she could have smelled it out. At last, utterly defeated and at a complete loss, she flung herself upon the bed in despair.

There was a knock at the door. She didn't bother to answer it. She knew who it was. The three of them visited her every day in an effort to ease the pain that each passing hour brought to her. But they were failing miserably, for they couldn't bring _him_ back, and _he_ was the only one that could fix her bleeding, lonely heart.

Regardless of this fact, they still tried, especially Scott. He lately had taken to bringing in stray dogs for her to care for. The school was filled with them. Each one she fed, cared for, and then passed on to some other lonely student.

But today she just wasn't in the mood to care for another on Scott's mangy mutts. By now the fluttering in her head had become an annoying buzz that was making her irritable.

The door opened and - as she predicted - in walked Scott, Storm, and Jean. _Wonderful_, she thought. _Here we go again. And Scott looks as eager as ever to cheer me up._ Had they been visible, Rogue was sure his eyes would have sparkled with mischief. As it was, his mouth was turned up in an odd smile that said he had something to tell her, and that he believed it would make her feel better. She had seen it there so many times before. In fact, they all seemed to be wearing relatively the same expression. Rolling her eyes in exasperation, she waited.

"Scott brought in another stray last night," Storm said, trying to hide an odd smile of amusement.

Scott nodded in affirmation. "He was a big fella, too. Poor half-starved thing looked like he walked all the way from Canada, he was so foot-sore. Jean fixed him up a bit, but I still think he could have used a good flea-bath."

"I told you that you were welcome to try," Jean interjected. "I seriously doubt that mutt would stand for it."

"Anyway," he concluded, "we stuck him in Logan's room for you. Figured he might feel a bit crowded in here with all your nervous pacing."

Rogue rose and brushed wordlessly past them, heading down the hall toward Logan's old room. Had she glanced over her shoulder, she might have seen the pleased smiles on the three faces. But she didn't. She was too occupied by the ever-increasing buzz in her head. It got worse and worse the farther she went, until she was almost sure she could hear it forming words.

_Told you, didn't I? I kept my promise. It's all right now. No more worrying. It's all going to be okay._

Before she knew it, there was the door. She hesitated a moment before going in. She hadn't been inside that room since he'd left. Slowly, she pushed the door open and slipped inside, closing it softly behind her.

Again, she hesitated, still facing the wall. She just couldn't bear the thought of any other creature - stray dog or not - occupying _his_ room, lying in _his_ bed. She couldn't bring herself to turn around and look.

"Hey, kid."

**To Be Continued...**

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A/N: Remember, 8 reviews continues the story! So please review! If, however, not enough ppl read the story, but there are some readers that really, really want to see this continued, I will - at my own discretion - continue. But let's at least try and get 8 reviews, huh?


	2. Reunion

A/N: Terribly, terribly sorry for the incredibly long wait! But the good news is that I finally have a plot for this thing! I'm already working on chapter 3. The bad news is that I am going out-of-state next week, so you won't get another chapter until at least the week after. However there should be a chapter then, because I will have plenty of time on my hands to write it. In the meantime, let's try and get a lot of reviews like last time, 'k? A huge thank-you to everyone who reviewed! And check my profile for the link to the brand new fanlisting for Wolverine's dogtags!

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**Chapter 2: Reunion**

"Hey, kid."

Rogue froze where she stood facing the door, begging her mind to quit playing tricks on her. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. It couldn't be, could it? But then, the "stray dog" cracks the others made, the looks of mischief and amusement, all seemed to fit now. Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned around, trying - and failing - to still her quickening breath.

There he was, lying stretched out on the bed. Scott had been right; he looked like he'd walked all the way from Canada. She had to force her feet to move slowly, as he didn't seem to be in any condition to be pounced upon. But there wasn't much she could do. The space between herself and the bed was crossed in a matter of seconds. Seating herself gently on the edge, she reached out and stroked his rugged face with a gloved hand.

He smiled at her and reached up, clasping her hand in his. "I told you I'd be back," he said softly, gazing up at her with his deep brown eyes.

Her mouth opened and closed silently a couple times as she struggled for the right words. Tears of joy and relief filled her eyes and threatened to spill over. At last, she found her voice. "Logan, I... I lost the tag..."

The smile on his face only widened as, to her astonishment, he placed the missing dogtag into her hand. "I think you need to start wearing this, so that, if you ever get lost, people know who you belong to."

She smiled at him through the tears that were now falling freely down her face. Warm droplets landed softly on the back of his hand. It was now Logan's turn to be astonished as she slowly brought his hand up to caress her uncovered face. He waited - unflinching, unmoving, uncomprehending - but nothing happened. "Marie, what..."

Without saying a word, she pulled off her long gloves and clasped his hand in both of hers. "Professor Xavier has been helping me learn to control it," she said at last, holding his hand close to her face and relishing in the feeling of having physical human contact again after so long. "I don't have to be alone anymore. I don't have to be afraid."

"Marie, you were never alone."

She nodded, lacing her fingers through his. A thoughtful expression crept across her face as she gazed at the back of his hand. He pulled away uncomfortably, but she had already seen it. The set of marks from his claws were gone, and in their place was a long, ugly scar that ran the full length of his arm up to his shoulder, which was caked with blood. The other arm was exactly identical. "Logan, what happened?"

"Hasn't had time to heal completely yet," he muttered, shrugging and glancing away quickly.

"But what happened to you?"

"It's nothing."

"Logan..."

"I said it's nothing, okay? Just drop it, Marie."

The firmness in his voice brought her up short. But she wasn't about to let him get away with avoiding her. "Don't shut me out like this, Logan, please. It doesn't look like nothing to me. It looks like you got your arms stripped off down to the bone or something."

There was silence between them for a moment before he spoke again, his voice much softer. "Chewed off is more like it. Bone and all, both of 'em. Got jumped by a pack of raving mad wolves, tore both my arms off at the shoulder. I lay freezing in the middle of those woods for three days until they'd healed enough that I could move. I tried walking home, but only got about halfway before my strength gave out. Lucky for me, Scott and Jean were on their way back at the same time."

A look of horror fluttered briefly across her face as he finished. "Bones and all?" she breathed. "But... your claws..."

"Bones grow back, darlin'. Adamantium don't. The claws are gone." She glanced away, the horror turning to sorrow and sympathy. In an attempt to lighten the mood, he went on. "Well, on the upside, I can't hurt you anymore." There was no reaction on the angelic face. Silently, she stroked the back of his hand, dragging her fingers across his knuckles were the marks used to be. "Marie, please say something."

At last, she turned her gaze back to him and smiled. "Logan, it doesn't matter to me. Claws or not, I don't care. The important thing is that you're back."

"What I'd like to know is: How?" She hadn't heard the door open, but suddenly Scott was standing there, leaning on the door frame. The amused smile was gone from his face. "Where's my bike, Logan?"

Logan stared right back at him with the same dead-serious expression. The trouble with Scott was that you could never tell exactly where he was looking. All you could do was try your best to return his gaze. "I ain't tellin' this story twice," Logan growled. "So you find me the Professor, and then I'll tell you."

Scott gave a curt nod and left.

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A/N: Review review review! 


	3. Gambit

A/N: I realize that it has been a very long time since I updated this, but I was stuck. My thanks go to chloe08 for pestering me twice a week during _Robin Hood_ rehearsals to finish this. Sorry it took so long!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I _don't_ have a plot for this story. Actually, that's not true. I have ideas. But there isn't really a plot. Just a string of interesting events in the aftermath of... stuff. Yeah. Hope you find this chapter enjoyable. And I hope you'll still stick around, even though we're not really going anywhere. We'll still have fun, right?

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Chapter 3: Gambit

In no time at all, the Professor had summoned the entire team to the Rec room. The new team now consisted of the old members - Jean, Cyclops, and Storm - as well as some new graduates - Rogue, Bobby 'Iceman' Drake, Peter 'Colossus' Rasputin, and Kitty 'Shadowcat' Pryde.

Rogue and Logan sat hand-in-hand on the sofa. All eyes, including hers, were on him, waiting for him to begin. Although some of them had not known him personally, they were all anxious to hear what had happened up in Canada.

At last he cleared his throat and spoke. "I found the old Weapon X facility in Alberta. Place looked near abandoned, just sitting out there on the lake. But they'd moved underground, and they were waiting for me. I'd been their only successful experiment during the entire program, and they wanted me back for 'tests and observation.' Guess they didn't know how much I dislike being caged.

"Soon as I saw the trap they were trying to drag me into, I just turned around and left. So they brought out some serious heavy force to bring me down. Sorry about the bike, Summers, but I doubt anything smaller than an eighteen-wheeler would've half-survived the blast they dealt that thing. Bike was pulverized. Did me a good number too. I was still recovering from the blow when they showed up.

"I can only guess at the experiments they've been runnin' in that facility since I left, but that guess is a pretty good one. Apparently, with their mutant gone, they'd turned to working on the native wildlife. An entire pack of wolves with some kind of physical enhancement. Pretty sure their teeth and claws were tipped with adamantium, too. Either way, they must have been darn hungry, or just very well trained, to do what they did to me.

"There were about seven of 'em. Three grabbed my right arm, two grabbed my left, and the other two started gnawing at my shoulder, right where the two plates came together. Don't think I'll ever forget the sound they made when they popped off. Like metal grinding against bones, mixed with the sound of nails on a chalkboard.

"And then they carried 'em off, just like that. And I was left out there alone for three whole days, waiting to heal. With no claws and no other way to get back, I just started walkin'. Got about halfway, too, when my legs gave out. That musta been when Scott and Jean showed up. Much as I hate to say it, I'm glad you got there when you did."

Once he had finished, no one spoke for several minutes. At last the Professor broke the heavy silence. "We are glad to have you back, Logan. And I am aware that you need your rest after such a strain on your healing factor. But there is something that I need you to do. There is a mutant nearby that has caught my attention. He may be dangerous..."

Logan interrupted before he could go any farther. "I don't think you heard right, Xavier. My claws are gone. I can't do your missions anymore."

"You did not let me finish, Logan. I need you to go because you will not be threatening to him. He has been terrorizing people on the streets for about a month now. So far he has not seriously injured anyone, but we need to know just what he is capable of. Think of this as more of a reconnaissance assignment than a seek and destroy mission."

"Well, why me? Can't you send someone else? Scott, I'm sure you'd _love_ to go."

"Scott and Jean have other things to attend to, and Storm is too busy here helping the newer members of the team get adjusted. I'm afraid there is no other choice, Logan."

The tone in the Professor's voice indicated that the decision was final. But Logan offered one final shot. "All right, I'll go. But I'm not going alone. I want Rogue to come with me."

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"Go on. Pick a card." He was tall and lanky, with a shock of brown hair held back by a dark blue headband. With the long brown trenchcoat and fingerless gloves successfully completing the street urchin look he was obviously going for, Remy LeBeau was every inch the perfect con artist. The unfortunate man sitting before him at the small table he had set up had mistakenly been sucked into his latest scheme.

"Go ahead," Remy repeated in his thick Cajun accent. "You know which card it is. It is so simple. Just pick a card."

The man hesitated before replying. "Not this time, buddy. Last card I picked blew up in my face!"

"Then I am afraid you lose." With that he began to shuffle the cards into his deck. A collective moan from the onlookers caused him to stop, a sly grin creeping across his face. "You disappoint these people," he said, replacing the cards on the table. "One more card."

With a sigh, the man examined the three cards before him a moment before choosing one. "That one."

Remy gave a wink and the cards all exploded in a brilliant flash of light. The crowd gave a cheer as the man was thrown to the ground in surprise. Remy simply beamed with pleasure down at his victim.

Several feet away, Logan and Rogue watched the entire spectacle from the alley in silence. They waited until the crowd had dispersed before approaching. "Think he's dangerous?" she whispered.

"We'll know soon enough. You know what you're supposed to do?"

"Isn't there some other way to do this?"

Logan held up his fists rather helplessly. "No claws. Otherwise I'd just threaten the info outta him." He paused a minute. "You know I hate to do this to you, kid."

"I know." They exchanged one last glance before she left the alleyway and began moving in the stranger's general direction. She wasn't comfortable with what she had to do, but it was the only way to do this without drawing unnecessary attention. Putting on her most charming smile, she sauntered up to him as he was packing up. "That sure was some trick," she drawled in her thick southern accent. "Where ya headed now?"

"Across town." His voice was calm and even, and he never even glanced at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." One hand slipped out of its glove. "Man with talents like yours must make a lot of money. So how much would it cost for a kiss?"

At last, he turned to look at her, and her breath was stolen away by the sight of his eyes. The pupils were a beautiful, soft red color, ringed by blue-violet irises. She caught herself wondering if this was what Scott's eyes might look like beneath his visor.

The buzz in her head interrupted her thoughts. _What's the matter, kid? Lovestruck? Gettin' all caught up in your job? You got work to do._

"For you," Remy was saying, seeming just as taken with her, "I would give a kiss for nothing."

_Then get it and let's go!_ Without another word, she grabbed his face with her ungloved hand and pressed her lips against his, drinking in his mind in moments. A look of surprise froze on his face for a second before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Got it?" She jumped, not having realized that Logan had walked up behind her. Nodding silently, she helped drag Remy's limp body to the waiting car.

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A/N: Sorry if you find that any of this isn't plausible. I try my best. And, in the course of this story, I plan on introducing a new character for every chapter. New characters will include those who were in the movies but are no longer in the story due to the changes I have made. I'll still find a way to fit them in. Oh, and some characters from the comics that weren't in the movies but should have been.


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